Ex-Rangers chairman Malcolm Murray in plea to fans
The former pension fund manager was speaking after Monday’s stormy Ibrox AGM.
The 90-minute meeting saw PLC chairman David Somers, chief executive Derek Llambias, director James Easdale and his brother Sandy - chairman of the club’s football board - face a barrage of abuse from shareholders.
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Hide AdChants of “out, out, out”, “sack the board” and “scumbags” were hurled at the directors as they made their way out onto a flimsy tent erected on the Ibrox pitch.
There was little detail given to the irate fans on how the board plan to bridge the £8.3 million funding gap which currently separates the Glasgow giants from safety, other than to say a fresh share issue was to be expected, while Somers was the focus of much of the ire after comments which sparked even more anger.
Despite the flak, the chairman, Llambias and James Easdale were all re-elected to the PLC board with the help of Mike Ashley and other institutional investors.
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But Murray claims the fans must act if they want to force real change.
Speaking outside the AGM, Murray - who was the club’s first chairman after it was reformed following its 2012 liquidation crisis, only to quit a year later after falling out with Charles Green - said: “That was the most arrogant display I have ever seen in third of a century of attending AGMs.
“There was complete disregard for shareholders and fans. They say they will operate without fans. We actually ended up knowing less than when we started, which takes a bit of doing.
“What can the fans and shareholders do? They have to make more noise. I am not saying they should boycott but they have to make a lot more noise. I think eventually the board will get worried that the fans are not turning up and not buying kit. The mood in there, well, I have never known anything like it.
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Hide Ad“Will fans turn their backs on the club? In the short term, yes. But my message to the fans is to stick with it. We will be here a lot longer than them.”
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